A Charming life
by Avenging-Angyl
Summary: Cole knew when Phoebe got pregnant with the Source's child, there would be a second child, too. The child of ColeBalthazar and Phoebe, of great power, but uncertain destiny. Rather than destroy his child, he froze her. Hidden in plain sight...a medic grab
1. Default Chapter

Charmed, Leo, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Chris, Wyatt, Cole, and Jason all belong to their respective owners. Psyche, Marcus, and Professor Hawkins belong to me. You know the rest. Enjoy.  
  
Psyche pulled her hair back into a tight bun. Nothing she was going to do to it would make it look better, anyway, so why bother? Most of the school looked on her as some lower life form, even though she was the first daughter of a Charmed one. Only Wyatt and Marc treated her any better, and Marc only treated her nicely because it would have been beneath him to treat anyone rudely. Even her cousin Chris, the closest to her age, treated her as if she was dirt. Chris was worse than anyone.  
  
Who had thought fit to give her this stupid name? The premonition her surrogate mom had had at her birth, the one showing her of her so-called past life where she was the most beautiful woman in the world, must be wrong. So her name was just another coal to feed the fire at this school where everyone knew her history.  
  
The history of her parents' crash and burn relationship. When her mom got pregnant, her brother's power had been so overwhelming that she had gone undetected by everyone but her father. Cole knew that when Phoebe got pregnant with the Source's child, there would be another child too, the one formed from Balthazar/Cole and Phoebe. A child of great power, but uncertain destiny. Rather than destroy his child, he performed a secret ritual that froze her.  
  
To hide her in plain sight, he had the little bottle she was frozen in put in a grouping with test tube babies. In an unforeseen oversight, some medic had grabbed the wrong tube, and voila! The daughter of a cursed demon and one of the greatest forces of good there was. And wasn't it just wonderful to attend a school whose focus was killing all of demonkind when you were the daughter of one of the most notorious demons in history?  
  
By the time her surrogate mom discovered that she had the wrong child, it was too late to do anything about it. She waited until Psyche was born, named her, and dumped her in an orphanage as quickly as possible. Growing up, feeling different from everyone else had warped her mind, separating Psyche even more in a place where people were separated already. Until Wyatt found her. She and Wyatt recognized each other instantly, despite the fact that they'd never met. It was the first time she'd trusted anyone.  
  
Her mom tried to connect with her too, but it was too late for that. Psyche was beyond trusting adults by then. She had been scarred too much. And she felt every time her mother looked at her, all she saw was Cole. It didn't help that she had his dark curly hair and green eyes. Her eyes were darker, though. Unnaturally dark, like a deep forest green, striking against her pale face. It seemed that Psyche was the only one in her family who had inherited the ugly genes. Her face was too freckled, her braces made her look monstrous, and she was awkwardly shaped.  
  
Marcus. Marcus was nice to her, without even being related to her. But Psyche inherently felt his pity for her and resented it to the point where she was rude every time she saw him. And then she got mad at herself, because she knew she didn't have enough friends to be rude to the few people who were unconditionally nice.  
  
At least Chris was completely honest. He resented her, and looked down on her parentage. He made no secret of the fact, even in front of their family. And Psyche was very happily rude back to him, although Wyatt tried to stop their arguments.  
  
Psyche loved Wyatt more than anyone. She would do almost anything for him, short of being nice to Chris, although she tried every once in a while. He had gotten her out of that hellhole of a foster home when she was almost fourteen, had shown her an entirely new world. She had spent the past two summers at her mother's home and the rest of the time at this cursed school. At school she had lessons to keep her busy, and during the summer it was easy enough to disappear, showing up only for meals, although her mom tried to make it otherwise.  
  
Psyche was in the training room, practicing bodily combat when the elder in charge of the school, Professor Hawkins, approached her.  
  
"Psyche, I've arranged a summer project for you if you wish to take it. I have a friend in France, a witch whose expertise in curses is almost unparalleled. You've shown so much promise in that area that I felt some special attention might be beneficial. Would you like to go?"  
  
Psyche flushed. Her powers, and especially curses, were the one thing she excelled at. Despite her late training, she showed more skill in witchcraft than almost anyone she knew except Wyatt. She knew that various theories were running by the ring of elders, and almost anyone who had heard of her lineage, as to where her powers were most strongly derived from, but no one had dared say anything to her. That Professor Hawkins would show so much faith in her boosted her security. "Are you kidding?! I'd love to!"  
  
the next fall......  
  
A beautiful girl, all curves and long dark hair, poked her head into Chris' room. "Hey, we've got to meet back at the manor for supper tonight. Some sort of family shindig. 7 o'clock."  
  
Chris looked at her blankly, not recognizing her. "What?"  
  
Psyche sighed impatiently. "Dinner, seven, manor. Is that clear enough for you? I'd spell it out, but I'm none too sure you'd understand something without pictures."  
  
Finally getting it, Chris looked shocked. "Psyche? What happened to you?"  
  
Psyche had most definitely changed. Her body had finally filled out, her skin was almost completely clear, with a few freckles, and her braces were gone. She nonchalantly smoothed her black leather miniskirt, worn with a white halter-top and short black nail-studded boots. "I got my braces off, and got some new clothes while I was in Paris, ok? Marcus is invited, too, ok? Think you can remember that?"  
  
Chris nodded, still stunned by the change. "Um, yeah, sure, ok. See you at seven."  
  
Psyche walked off, brushing lightly past Marc in the hall, who stared after her, puzzled.  
  
"Hey, Chris, who was- Psyche? What did she do this summer?"  
  
Chris shrugged. "I don't know. Guess we'll find out at supper."  
  
Marc sank down into his chair, shocked. He had always liked Psyche, and yeah, felt sorry for her. She was so closed off from everyone. But he knew she resented being pitied, and so she avoided him as often as she could. And now- Well, it might make her life easier. Now that she was as beautiful as her namesake.  
  
Dinner that night was easier than usual. Psyche sat next to Wyatt, who got her to speak more naturally than she would had he not been there. Phoebe tried not to look directly at her daughter, because Psyche would have found some excuse not to be there if she felt pressured to be 'normal'. Jason and Psyche were pretty good friends, mainly because his expectations of her were slight. Chris sat there, making comments in the conversation from time to time, trying to get Marc to say something, but Marc was too busy watching Psyche to say much. Piper, Paige and Leo tried to keep Phoebe occupied while they were eating.  
  
Afterwards, they all cleared to the living room. Their lives had been fairly peaceful lately, giving them room to just sit back. Psyche sat in the corner mixing a potion, murmuring instructions in French to herself, Chris, Wyatt, Jason and Leo played Risk, the sisters watched a movie in the next room, and Marcus pretended to read while sneaking glances at Psyche every few minutes.  
  
The evening ended quietly, everyone dispersing late. Psyche finished her potion and left, Marcus offering to go with her. Wyatt's fraternal instincts acted up at this, following them, Chris following him. Phoebe and Jason left, Jason trying to cheer Phoebe up, Paige went home, and Piper and Leo went to bed. 


	2. A New Beginning

Charmed and its characters belong to whoever they belong to. Psyche, Marcus, and Professor Hawkins belong to me.  
  
Chloe-Marcus (and pretty much everyone) is shocked by Psyche's changes because they happened over the summer while she was gone. She grew up, became stylish, and to him it happened all at once. She's now really beautiful... See what happens!  
  
Melinda-I chose Psyche's name for a specific meaning. Keep reading and find out why.  
  
To all my reviewers- I love you and would marry all of you if I could. At once.   
  
Psyche sat on the floor of her room, painting her nails. Realizing they were going to still be wet before her class started, she waved a fiery hand over them, instantly drying them. She walked to class quickly, knowing that it disturbed people that she could just appear in a place like a demon, rather than orbing, which everyone was used to. She still hated it that Chris lorded it over everyone that he was the son of a Charmed one, when she all she wanted was to be normal. She had the same rights as him, but because of the other half of her heritage, she was treated with suspicion and dislike.  
  
She walked into her usual place in the middle of the room, where she could hear everything but stay out of the teacher's radar.  
  
Surprisingly, a couple of the more popular guys sat next to her. Psyche eyed them suspiciously, expecting trouble. Most people didn't mess with her, because she had shown no fear of retaliating in the past. She didn't even use her magic when she retaliated, so the teachers had very little to reprimand her for.  
  
Ryan, one of the guys sitting next to her, tossed her a note in the middle of class.  
  
So, what are you doing tonight?  
  
She read the note over, looking for anything wrong. Shrugging,  
  
Um...nothing, why?  
  
You wanna get something to eat?  
  
Well, ok, I guess.  
  
Psyche was rather freaked by this. No guy- that is, no guy from school had ever shown the slightest interest in her. Lets face it, she just wasn't well liked.  
  
Later that night, she desperately wished she hadn't said yes so quickly. He was just so boring. All he could talk about were the most juvenile spells that she had learned barely weeks after learning she was a witch, like how to get rid of warts, and what to do if a demon threw fireballs at you. She was considering throwing a fireball at him. It wasn't that hard to protect yourself, you ducked. There wasn't much reaction time to do anything else.  
  
Finally he changed the subject. "You want to go dancing?"  
  
She shrugged. "Sure, lets." Psyche loved dancing. It was one of the things she could just let loose in, without feeling hampered by everyone else.  
  
They headed for CharmInc; a club piper had opened up for people of supernatural ilk to get together. Surprisingly, it did very well. It wasn't to the club's detriment that it admitted people of all ages. Mainly because, how are you supposed to get a leprechaun or a whitelighter to show some id? But Psyche loved it there. She worked there some evenings and summers before she went to France.  
  
Listening to the music, Psyche let go. When she immersed herself completely in the music, all people saw was beauty. When the music slowed, one of the waitresses, a friend named Sandy, whispered in her ear. She nodded and smiled.  
  
As she climbed onto the stage, the band struck up a haunting melody. Psyche started to sing an old ballad, almost a thousand years old, that she looked up in one of her history books. She had kept all the original words, only slightly changing the tune. Some of the, shall we say, older immortals got up to dance to this one. Psyche's voice wound around everyone, leaving them almost in a trancelike state, until her voice and the dance became the only thing in existence.  
  
When Ryan walked her back to her room that night, he leaned in as if to kiss her, but Psyche dodged it. "Good night!" she called blithely. Right. Like she was ever doing that again.  
  
At breakfast the next morning, she sat at a table with Marcus and Chris. She generally did this only to bug Chris. The dining hall was not your typical high school cafeteria. Large round wooden tables and dim lighting served to make this room much lower energy. Oh, and the cauldrons underneath the tables did not add to the youth-centered atmosphere.  
  
Marcus barely looked her in the eye, muttering a hasty, "Morning."  
  
Psyche raised an eyebrow. "My, grumpy much?"  
  
He shrugged. "So how did your date with pretty boy go last night?"  
  
Psyche sniffed. "Exactly the way I wanted it to."  
  
Marcus glared at her. "So, when's the next date?"  
  
Psyche glared back at him. "I don't know yet. I have to look at my schedule."  
  
"So how far did he get?"  
  
She choked. "Excuse me, what is with the third degree going on already? And since when did I have to tell you what went on on my dates, anyway? So unless you have something real to talk to me about, leave me alone, alright? Good night." Saying this, she began to stalk off, but she clattered to the floor a second later, falling on her tray and gripping her head.  
  
Marcus and a few of the other students ran to her, one running for a teacher. He gently lifted her off the floor, cradling her in his arms. "It's ok, it's ok. You're going to be fine, I promise."  
  
Psyche rocked back and forth, curling into a fetal position. "No, no it's not."  
  
Marcus stroked her hair slowly. "Shh. Just tell me what you saw, and I'm sure someone will take care of it."  
  
Psyche shook her head. "I don't know what I saw. I just got this overwhelming rush of images, images that ran too fast to be seen. And it isn't that far off."  
  
"How far?"  
  
She shrugged helplessly. "A year maybe? I don't know. But something bad is going to happen, and it's too late to stop. The pieces have already been set into motion."  
  
A professor came and led them into another room. After being looked over thoroughly, Psyche was sent back to her room to take it easy for the rest of the day while Marc was sent back to class.  
  
Vague images ran through Psyche's mind that night, and bad feelings haunted her in general. Finally dozing off, she slept deeply for the rest of the night. 


	3. Who Am I?

Psyche stood in front of the mirror, perusing her appearance. She wore very little makeup, eyeliner and mascara to outline her eyes, and dark lipstick to both mute and fill her lips out. She ran a brush briefly through her hair, pulled on a jean button up skirt, dark t-shirt, and boots. She pouted slightly. Marcus was hanging around her a lot lately, which kept the other guys away, and if he wasn't going to ask her out already, what was the point? At least her incessant flirting was getting to him. If he didn't go crazy first, it might finally drive him to ask her out.  
  
She opened her door and Marc nearly fell over.  
  
"I just wanted to walk you to class. If that's ok."  
  
Psyche shrugged uninterestedly. "Sure, I guess."  
  
Marcus didn't pay much attention to the one or two other guys who just happened to 'bump into them' on the way to class. Frustrated, she seemed to completely ignore him in class, but she kept doing little things designed to make him look at her. Chewing on the end of her pencil, fiddling with her hair, biting her lip.  
  
As they walked towards the dining room after class, Psyche could tell she was finally getting to him. Although his face looked impassive, a little muscle in the corner of his mouth was twitching. Pete, one of the guys who had been hanging around her since she came back this fall, came up to them.  
  
"So, P, when are we gonna go out? Give me a call, alright?"  
  
Psyche smiled and gave a little shrug. "I might. Then again, who knows?"  
  
Pete bumped her shoulder. "You're the psychic one."  
  
She laughed. "See you later."  
  
"Adios."  
  
Psyche smiled and gave a little sigh. All of a sudden Marcus pulled her into an empty classroom next to them and stood in front of her, his hands on the wall on either side of her.  
  
"Just- just stop it, ok?! Why are you flirting with them when they never gave a hang about you before? You shouldn't be going out with them, anyway!"  
  
Psyche glared up at him, eyes flashing. "And just why shouldn't I be going out with them?" Her voice was cold and smooth-sounding.  
  
Marcus closed his eyes briefly and gave a little shudder, as if to shrug it off. "Well- You shouldn't- Oh, just because, all right?"  
  
She repeated his last two words very slowly. "Just because? Why should I listen to you when your answer is something as silly-" Her words were cut off abruptly as Marc's mouth covered hers. His hands moved down from the wall, one to the small of her back, and the other to the side of her waist, pulling her closer to him. She gave a slight squeak, but moved forward, her hands going up to his shoulders.  
  
They jerked apart suddenly as the bell for lunch rang. Psyche ran out of the room quickly, muttering some excuse, and ran to her room for the lunch hour. When she finally got there, she was shaking. She slid against the door. She had never felt so electrified. Was this the way other people felt when they kissed someone for the first time, or was it only her who felt that way? And it wasn't just electricity running through her. Some other feeling, of warmth, almost ecstatic happiness and trust had run through her. The oddest feeling of... familiarity. That was not at all something she had expected to feel. As if this wasn't the first time she had kissed him, but the millionth.  
  
Psyche sat down on her bed, idly turning the pages of one of her potions books, making a feeble attempt at calming herself down. Her eye caught something briefly. A SPELL FOR FINDING ONE'S SELF  
  
Well, she could certainly use that right now. She scanned the ingredients. Most were ones that she had stored in her room, and the others were easily substitutable. She might as well perform it right now.  
  
A few minutes later, she said the spell over her little cauldron and dropped the paper in.  
  
FLASH! She was standing in a dark room, holding a candle in her hand. It felt like someone else was in control of her body, someone whose feelings were giving her the weirdest sense of déjà vu. She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing some sort of Greek robe. The person whose body she was sharing was feeling a lot of trepidation right now.  
  
She looked around the room and caught her breath. Someone was laying on the bed in front of her. She couldn't see their face, but desperately wanted to. Maybe this was how she was supposed to find her inner self. But what if her inner self was a monster? What if she was horribly ugly, or half beautiful and half disfigured, signifying her parentage? But how would she ever know if she didn't look...  
  
Slowly, she raised the candle.  
  
Catching sight of the person's face, she gasped in shock.  
  
Author's Note I finally understand the allure of cliffhangers. But only when I know what's going to happen next. Just as a personal opinion, I am addicted to boots. So if Psyche wears a lot of them, that's why. Read on soon! Luv, The Avenging Angyl 


	4. Surprise

Psyche gasped. It was.......Marcus! But older. And dressed in... Greek clothing? What the hell? He seemed much older as well. What was going on? Looking at him, she had to admit that he didn't look so bad in the outfit. But she wasn't in control of her body. It was confusing. It was like a different version of herself was in control of her body. Suddenly she realized- She was in a past life! Well, the other Psyche was also curious about Marcus, too. She leaned over him, holding her lamp a little higher so she could see him better. But in raising it she tipped it slightly, letting a drop of oil drip onto his bare chest.  
  
The Marcus look-alike jerked awake. Psyche fell over, extinguishing the flame. He stood up, light seemingly emanating from him.  
  
"Where there is no trust there can be no love."  
  
His eyes spoke of untold sadness as he slowly disappeared.  
  
Psyche dropped to the floor sobbing, the walls around her falling away, the palace she was in (for it was clearly that), until it was in ruins. Two women ran towards her.  
  
"See?' said the taller one. "Wasn't he a monster, just like we warned you?"  
  
"Oh, you poor dear!" said the shorter one, with the look of pity a snake might give to the food it was about to devour.  
  
"No!' screamed Psyche, pushing them away. "No, he wasn't, he was as beautiful as he was kind and good and loving! He was Eros, and may the day that I ever listened to your spiteful words be cursed!" She ran away, far from that place, seeking solace.  
  
She wandered far and wide, searching many lands for her husband. Psyche, watching her past self from the inside, was terribly confused herself. Marcus and she had been married in a previous life? No wonder she knew the feel of his touch so well. But this was a big thing. This was scary.  
  
After weeks of wandering, a bright light shone in Psyche's eyes. She shielded them with the back of her hand, weariness taking over. The sun was rising, but that wasn't the light. A woman of untold beauty was standing in front of her.  
  
"Sort the seeds by sunset, or die."  
  
"What seeds?" Psyche asked, but the woman was gone. And then she saw them. Mountains of seeds, everywhere. Millions of seeds covering the ground in front of her. Stunned, she began to work.  
  
It was early afternoon, and Psyche felt like she had gotten nowhere. She had worked nonstop, and still there were seeds to be sorted, and her sight was beginning to get blurry. Some of the seeds seemed to be moving in front of her.  
  
Psyche looked closer. Those weren't seeds, they were ants! Ants were moving the seeds into different piles. Hope renewed, Psyche set back to work with a good heart.  
  
By evening, all of the seeds were parted.  
  
The goddess reappeared. Seeing the parted seeds, an inward rage seemed to be growing within her. "Very well. Come with me.  
  
They vanished in a twinkling. 


	5. Denial

Psyche was standing at the edge of a field, looking at a herd of sheep grazing. The lady stood next to her, gazing at them as well. "Gather wool from these and bring it to me." And she was gone. Psyche stood there. She could feel her former self trying to decide what course of action to take. The sheep were dangerous, she knew that much. This woman did not want her to succeed.The Psyche inside of her tentatively took a step forwards, eyeing the sheep. She jumped back quickly, looking around for the voice. "Wait until dark when they leave, then gather the wool left behind in the bushes." So she did. She sat on the edge of the field for the day, resting. The sadness that former Psyche felt at being separated from her husband was overwhelming, and the guilt at losing him was bearing down heavily on her. Psyche tried to distance herself, but it wasn't working. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, a memory trying to make itself known, but she was becoming too drawn in.

As the night drew on, the sheep fled the field, stampeding through thornbushes that bordered it. Psyche tentatively walked to the bushes, pulling the bits of fleece stuck on the thorns, collecting it into her skirt hem. The goddess reappeared. Seeing the wool in Psyche's unharmed lap, she froze. The earth around them trembled, but she seemed to gather herself together. "I have one more duty for you." They appeared at a large plain wooden door. It swung open slowly into darkness. The goddess commanded, "Fetch me the box of beauty from Persephone. Follow the path and cross the river and she shall be waiting for you." Psyche nodded mutely and walked through the door as it swung shut behind her. It was fairly dark on the path, but there was light coming from somewhere in front of her. She walked for a long while, weary to the bone. She noticed vaguely that she was shaking, and she could feel a rumbling through her. It took her a while, however, to notice that though the rumbling was going through her, it wasn't coming from her. She turned the corner and jumped suddenly backwards at what was before her. Peeking back around, a large three headed dog was chained to a post. A very large dog. But to get to the river, which jumped into view right behind it, she would have to pass the dog. Thoroughly frustrated, Psyche sat down and started to cry. She'd been through so much just to see her husband again, and everyone just seemed to be working against her. She reached into a pocket for something to wipe her face with when her hand brushed against something that hadn't been there before. Sniffling, she pulled out a small bag with three little cakes inside. She thought as hard as her wandering mind would let her, but she could not recall where she had picked it up. Looking at them, she suddenly realized what she was supposed to do.

Walking slowly towards the dogs (dog?), she tossed the cakes at them, waiting until they grabbed them to dart past them to the river. Standing at the river, she watched as a ferryman slowly made his way toward her. Taking off one of her rings, a gift from her father, she handed it to the ferryman silently, paying her way across. A shrouded woman was waiting for her on the other side. She silently handed her a small wooden box. Psyche took the box and turned around. The ferryman took her back across (apparently the ring was still covering for her). She was able to get past the dogs easily, too. They seemed to be napping after their snack. As she neared the entrance she looked down at the box she was carrying. Maybe there was some sort of beauty treatment in the box. If she was going to see Eros again, it might help her. She slowly lifted the lid and peered inside. Somethingblack blasted at her and she choked, dropping the box to the ground. A strange feeling welled up inside her and she started gasping for air, bending over and then falling. The world started swimming and Psyche started to black out. Eros appeared above her, calling out to her, and grasping her hand. "Psyche, stay with me. Don't give up on me now- Psyche, come back to me. I promise you that we'll be together forever- I'll never leave you again, every lifetime, any world- we'll be together. Nothing and nobody will ever part us again, you have my promise. I love you, Psyche." Psyche gasped back awake in her own time, Marcus sitting next to her on the floor. "What did you do? Psyche, tell me what is going on. Please." Psyche looked at him with kind of a growing horror. The words, 'I'll never leave you again, every lifetime..' echoed in her head. "Nothing's wrong, I just need time to think, alright? Leave me alone!" She ran into the bathroom and shut the door. Marcus stared after her for a minute, then left. Psyche paced back and forth in the bathroom, muttering under her breath. "I can't love anyone, I'm seventeen. This is just ridiculous. It was a weird dream, is all it was." 


	6. History, And An Important Decision

Charmed isn't mine, but ya'll know all this. Characters not from the WB belong to me.

Psyche avoided Marc for the next few days without telling him why. When she finally fell back to hanging out with him, it was in a friends sort of way. Chris was preoccupied with his new on-again, off-again girlfriend Bianca, so they were a sort of distraction, although things were still strained between Marcus and Psyche. Marcus had a habit of looking over at Psyche when she was not watching or pretending not to, trying to figure out what was going on.

Psyche herself didn't completely understand what was going on, so she finally went to Wyatt about it.

"So I just can't bring myself to look at him anymore, and I know it's not right because he has no idea what's going on or what he did. But I'm terrified to let it go any further."

Wyatt blinked at her. "Wow. I don't think you took a single breath when you said that."

"Wyatt..."

He grinned. "No, I don't think you're wrong, necessarily. And it's understandable. You aren't a very trusting person- you've had a lot of bad experiences. You have major issues with commitment as a result of that. So the fact that possibly someone is going to stick around, someone who wants you to put a lot of your trust in them, scares you. And while this present-day Marc hasn't tried to get you serious; yet, in effect that's what you feel your experience forebodes for you. So just try thinking about it from a new perspective, and then decide how you want to react to him. You also have to decide whether or not you're going to go through life only trusting me." He pushed her back playfully."Not that I mind. It's always nice to be worshipped."

Psyche snorted and walked away. "You wish. You're just easy to use."

Psyche thought about what Wyatt said for a while before making her decision. So she did something she'd never done before- she went through her photos. Her aunt Piper, who she was closest to, had organized pictures of her into an album and given it to her. Psyche had taken it because of her connection to her aunt, but had put it in a chest in her closet that contained all of her possessions from when she was younger. She was not exactly fond of her past.

She had forgotten all the pictures her birth mom used to take when she was still trying to pretend that they were a normal family. There were some pictures of her as a baby, all dressed up as a two year old in little ballet outfits. The home photos grew fewer and fewer the older she got. She glanced closer at the last picture taken of her before her mom dumped her at the fire station. There was a vague tall shadow standing over her in the background, looking slightly menacing towards the camera.

Flashback

Five year old Psyche held her mommy's hand as they walked towards the car. Although she didn't understand it, mommy had been very cold lately, making Psyche cling all the tighter to her. But tonight was exciting- she was getting to stay up past her bedtime and go on a drive! Mommy drove for a couple of hours, until Psyche was almost asleep.

"Psyche, wake up. We're here."

Psyche blinked at her a few times, not really comprehending.

Mommy led her over to a bench. "Honey, Mama's gonna leave you here for a while, ok? There are some nice people here who are gonna take care of you, alright? I want you to be good. Don't do... Remember that your special gifts are a secret. Don't show them to anyone."

Psyche frowned, confused. "Where are we, Mommy? Is that a fire truck? Why are you going away?" She began to wail. ÒI donÕt like it here. Don't leave me alone! Please...?"

Mrs. Carmichael felt a twinge of guilt, but she'd made up her mind. "Shh... Sweetie, everything's going to be ok. Now, here's your bag and they'll be out soon. Just wait here quietly." She turned and walked away quickly, not stopping to look back.

Unfortunately for Psyche, it was a quiet night at the fire station. No one found her until the morning, by which time she'd frozen into a quiet, speechless little girl. The firemen went through her bag, which had been neatly packed with an envelope of papers on top. They contained her birth certificate and records, and a notarized letter.

To Whom It May Concern

I officially relinquish all responsiblities and gaurdianship of this child, one Psyche Melinda Carmichael. This may be difficult to understand to some people, but I have given it my all and cannot be responsible for a child as unique as her. I feel like IÕve lost my grip on sanity, and just canÕt handle her anymore. May God be with whoever has the care of her next.

Sandra Carmichael

The videotape of the parking lot the night Psyche was abandoned horrified the people who saw it even more. The lady who had abandoned her was obviously affluent, and her actions seemed senseless. When Social Services attempted to contact her and her husband, they were told that they'd moved. So Psyche was shuffled into the foster care system, a dark haired and darker humored little girl who rarely spoke.

Nine Years Later

A sulky, black-clad fourteen year old shuffled into the orphanage living room with a book and curled up in a chair in a shady corner. A minute later an older tall blonde guy followed her in.

"Psyche Carmichael?"

She gave him a dirty look."Yeah, what?"

He smiled at her. "I'm Wyatt Halliwell. I'm a part of the Big Brother/Sister program and they thought that we'd get along."

Psyche snorted. "I don't see why. We're nothing alike."

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that? We've just met."

She let out a sarcastic laugh."Trust me- there's nothing similar. Look, you're probably just doing this for the credit hours so you can get into the college of your choice, or you feel sorry for poor little orphan Annie. Either way, I don't need it. I'll tell your college people or whatever that we're '_best friends_' if they ask, but you can go do your own thing."

He laughed. "Before you give up on me, at least give me a trial chance. If you still don't like me, I'll go away. I'll even tell your house mother that you're completely unmanageable and should just be left alone.'

Rolling her eyes and sighing, Psyche got up. "Whatever. Can we at least get out of here?"

"Sure. I'm hungry anyway."

Wyatt took her out for ice cream, talking about random things. Psyche was pretty silent while they ate. Then he took her to the bookstore, and although she made a snide comment, her face softened and took an hour looking at the books. When she reached home that night, she found one of the books she'd been looking at slipped into her backpack.

Wyatt was very quiet that night at supper. Later his mom asked him to help her clear the table and clean the kitchen.

"Wyatt, I know youÕve got something on your mind. Spill."

He shrugged. "I don't know. There's just something about Psyche that I can't place. She seems really familiar, for one thing. I know there's something in her that's different- something that just resounds, if that makes any sense."

Piper shook her head. "Just be careful. Don't put her in any danger. She could be an innocent that you need to guide."

Wyatt gave a wicked grin. "What kind of trouble could I cause?"

Psyche and Wyatt hung out a lot over the next few weeks. She rarely talked about herself, but learned all about his family. They had a lot of the same interests, and Psyche began to feel safe around him. She even visited his house for dinner once. Afterwards, they played basketball out back for a while before he took her home.

Then Wyatt got a call from her house matron. Psyche was missing, and was she with him? She had asked for a hall pass during school that day and just hadn't returned. Did he have any idea where she could be? If she contacted him, he was to get ahold of the orphanage immediately.

Wyatt scryed for Psyche immediately. The fact that she would just disappear in the middle of the day scared him, especially when theyÕd made plans to go to see the Mavericks versus the Warriors (the Mavs were her favorite team) in a few days. SheÕd been really looking forward to it.

He found her a few miles away. Grabbing a jacket, he ran out the door and jumped into his car.

He drove up and down the street the crystal had landed on, trying to find her in the driving rain. Parking on the side of the road, he started looking around, then heard crying in an alley. He ran towards it, and turned the corner and found himself between Psyche and a demon.

Psyche was curled up against a wall, crying,"Leave me alone! Why canÕt you just go away? Please, don't touch me..."

The demon raised his hand and started to throw it towards her when Wyatt froze them both. But instead of stopping, Psyche jumped and backed away from him. Stunned, he took a step towards her.

"Stay back!" Psyche cried defensively. She threw up her hand in front of her. "I knew it! You just wanted me like he does! You were lying the whole time! Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

"Psyche, just calm down a minute. I swear, I'm not going to hurt you."

Fear and trepidation gleamed in her eyes. "What did you do to him? How can I trust you?"

Wyatt held up his hands. "I just froze him. You know me. I could have hurt you plenty of times before. Why would I start now?"

"Well, what is going on? Why didn't you freeze me, too?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The only people who I canÕt freeze are... good witches." Realization hit him. "Psyche, is there anything different about you?"

Psyche crossed her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't believe me," she muttered. "I sound crazy."

He snorted. "Do you really think I'm going to call you crazy after what just happened?"

She shrugged, not looking directly at him. "I have... powers. Weird things happen around me. It's why my parents gave me up."

Horror struck Wyatt. What if his parents had decided he was just 'too much trouble'? He couldn't even bear to think about it. "Well, let me take care of him and then we'll get out of here. You shouldn't be in the rain, you're going to get sick." He blasted the demon, then lead her to the car, wrapping his jacket around her.

Before asking her any questions, he called her gaurdian and got her set up in the living room with clean clothes. She huddled in front of a fire, wrapped in a big blanket.

Wyatt sat down in front of her. "I think you need to tell me about yourself now. What do you know about your parents?"

She looked into the fire. "I know that the people who gave birth to me couldn't have children naturally. There was a big lawsuit that they won just after I was born about it. Something about a tube being accidently switched- biologically IÕm someone else's kid. But a different clinic had done the actual procedure originally, and they only had my father's first name to go on. The court decided to seal the case, and I was declared the Carmichaels' legal child. The man turned out to have disappeared, so they decided not to push it. I- I think he's dead.I've seen him in my dreams sometimes."

This sparked curiosity in Wyatt, and something niggled at the back of his mind. "Keep going, please."

Psyche shrugged. "Well, they dumped me at a fire station when I was about five. They just couldn't handle the powers anymore- who could they get to help them? They'd had enough.There was a letter she'd left for my eyes only when I got old enough. She'd had a flash when I was being born of my actual parents- a witch and a demon. Lucky me. Such a great parentage"

He frowned. "Psyche, did you ever learn your biological father's name? Did they tell you that?"

"Yeah, sure. They tried to find a relative, but it turned out that he had very little background. The authorities couldn't find anything on him, except he was married. They didn't inform his wife- they think he was cheating on her. She had a miscarriage herself, right after one of his disppearances."

"Could you tell me what it was?"

She gave him a piercing gaze. "Cole. Cole Turner."

He gave her one shocked look before running into the other room yelling. ";Aunt Pheobe! AUNT PHEOBE! Mom! Dad!"

Pheobe ran downstairs as Piper and Leo orbed in, "What! Where is it?"

"No, it's not that. You need to listen to her story!"

Piper gave him a dirty look. "Wyatt! You know better than to yell in here if it's not.. you know."

Wyatt shook his head impatiently. "Whatever." He looked at Psyche."Could you tell them what you just told me?"

She shrugged. "Sure. They're going to think I'm crazy, though."

"Trust me. In this house, no one is crazy."

So Psyche told them about her strange story- the mix-up and her consecutive abandonment.

Leo looked at Wyatt,"That's a really odd story, Wyatt, but I don't see-"

ÒNo, dad. Psyche, tell them your dad's name."

She looked rather hounded. "Cole Turner."

Pheobe turned pale white. "That isn't possible."

Wyatt looked at her. "Think about it, Aunt Pheobe. She has premonitions. What if Cole did something to, you know...?"

Psyche looked at all of them, confused. "What is going on? Can this day get any weirder?"

Leo led Wyatt and Piper out of the room. "I think they need to talk, alone. Wyatt, come on."

Pheobe reached her hand toward Psyche. "I'm... I think I'm your mother."

Present Day

Psyche closed her memory book quickly. She hadn't reacted well to that news- she'd had too much bad ideas associated with that word. Then had come a long period when the Halliwells had had to prove that she was biologically theirs, and she'd moved into the manor. Well, not the manor per se. Pheobe and Jason owned the manor next door to the original house, and she'd had to readjust her life completely.

They'd discovered that the demon who was after her was the only survivor under Cole's reign as the Source who knew about her. He'd wanted to take her, and gain power in the Underworld with her help.

The sisters tried to banish the demon side to her but couldn't. The Elders thought that her nature- as the only part-witch, part-demon ever, was an even mix of light and dark, making her more human-natured. Her two sides were irreversibly fused- and they had to accept her as a powerful being whom they couldn't control. Most of her family's group of friends treated her with apprehension.

And now she was at the brink of adulthood. She had a choice to make, and she had to make it soon before it passed through her fingers.

Marc answered a knock on his door. Psyche was standing there, looking at him in a way he didn't recognize.

"Can I come in"

Reviews would be much appreciated! How am I doing? I wrote this at like, 3 in the morning, so I was kind of delirious. :)


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